Irobot Corporation

Brian W Doughty

Alec Likhite

Erik Steltz

Leo Torrente

Brian Yamauchi

Andrew Beaulieu

Steven V Shamlian

Paul C Balutis

Tyler Mark Nikitas

Levi Fox

Jeff Karlson

Vincent Andrew Wolff

Rogelio Manfred Neumann

James J Mahoney, Jr

Isaac Fowler

Travis James Gschrey

Peter Lydon

Yves Behar

Timothy R Ohm

Stuart R Jang

William Stuart

Douglas Dell'Accio

Scott Thomas Burnett

Jack Zhang

Celerick Stephens

Scott Raymond Lenser

Jeffrey Curtis

Timothy James Haughton

Vincent Edward Colella

Winston Heinrichs

Elizabeth Victoria Luyster

Heath Dube

Shaan Patel

Peter J Lydon

Willy Chung

A pet feeding system can include a housing, a food tray connected to the housing, and a liquid tray connected to the housing. The pet feeding system can include a food dispenser connected to the housing and configured to dispense food into the food tray. The pet feeding system can include a liquid dispenser connected to the housing and configured to dispense liquid into the liquid tray. The pet feeding system can include a controller communicatively connected to the food dispenser and the liquid dispenser. The controller can operate the food dispenser to dispense the food into the food tray and can operate the liquid dispenser to dispense liquid into the liquid tray.

Home pet systems and devices

A docking station for a mobile cleaning robot can include a housing. The housing can define or comprise a pad receptacle and a pad dispenser. The pad receptacle can be configured to receive a soiled pad from a pad tray of the mobile cleaning robot. The pad dispenser can be configured to provide a fresh pad to the pad tray of the mobile cleaning robot.

Pad changing system for robotic vacuum cleaners

A docking station for a mobile cleaning robot can include a canister and a base configured to receive the mobile cleaning robot thereon, where the base can include a front portion and a back portion opposite the front portion. The base can include a vacuum port extending at least partially through the base. The canister can be connected to the back portion of the base and can be located at least partially above the base. The canister can include a debris bin connected to the vacuum port to receive debris therefrom and a fan compartment connected to a side wall of the debris bin and including a fan system operable to draw debris through the vacuum port and the debris bin.

Evacuation dock with fluid management

A cleaning station for a mobile robot includes a fluid vessel and a roller arranged in the fluid vessel. The fluid vessel is shaped to hold a cleaning fluid that at least partially submerges the roller. The cleaning station includes a control system configured to, when the mobile robot is docked at the cleaning station, cause rotation of the roller to direct cleaning fluid from the fluid vessel to a cleaning pad of the mobile robot in order to release debris from the cleaning pad.

Cleaning pad washing

A method of mowing with an autonomous robot lawnmower includes traversing a mowable area with the autonomous robot lawnmower carrying a cutter and a vegetation characteristic sensor. The vegetation characteristic sensor is configured to generate sensor data in response to detecting a vegetation characteristic of the mowable area. The vegetation characteristic is selected from the group consisting of a moisture content, a grass height, and a color. The method includes storing position-referenced data representing the vegetation characteristic detected across the mowable area. The position-referenced data is based at least in part on the sensor data and position data. The method includes sending data to a remote device to cause the remote device to display a map including information based on the position-referenced data.

Controlling robotic lawnmowers

An autonomous cleaning robot includes a drive system to maneuver the autonomous cleaning robot across a floor surface; a cleaning assembly for cleaning the floor surface; and a sensor system disposed at a forward portion of the autonomous cleaning robot. The sensor system includes a movable element having (i) a first configuration in which the movable element extends beyond a bottom surface of the autonomous cleaning robot by a first amount, and (ii) a second configuration in which the movable element extends beyond the bottom surface of the autonomous cleaning robot by a second amount less than the first amount; a spring mechanically coupled to the movable element, the spring being biased to hold the movable element in the first configuration; and a sensor assembly configured to generate a signal based on the configuration of the movable element.

Sensors for an autonomous cleaning robot

A grass cutting mobile robot includes a body and a blade assembly connected to the body and rotatable about a drive axis. The blade assembly includes blades, a housing to hold the blades, a coupling latch configured to lock the housing to a drive shaft of the mobile robot, and a spring that connects the blade to the coupling latch. The housing is configured for coupling to an actuator so that the housing is rotatable about a drive axis, and receives a shaft that connects the housing to the actuator. The shaft includes a groove or an undercut therein. The coupling latch is rotatable within the housing to move an engagement end towards, or away from the groove or undercut. The engagement end is positionable within the groove to lock the housing to the actuator.

Blade assembly for a grass cutting mobile robot

An autonomous robot lawnmower includes a blade assembly including blades, a drive system to drive the blades through a cutting area having a cutting width, and a lateral blade guard including at least four bars spaced apart from one another by no less than 1 mm and no more than 15 mm. The at least four bars are positioned between the blades and a mowable area when the robot lawnmower is supported on the mowable area. The at least four bars extend across a portion of the cutting width and extending rearward and forward of the cutting area.

Blade guard for a robot lawnmower

Controlling robotic lawnmowers based on fluctuating weather conditions

A mobile robot includes a chassis, a shell moveably mounted on the chassis, and a cutting assembly mounted to the chassis. The mobile robot also includes a communication system that includes an antenna module disposed on a rear portion of the mobile robot. The antenna module includes a base assembly, and an antenna assembly mounted to the base assembly by a spring. The antenna assembly includes a ranging antenna, and at least three angle antennas arranged axisymmetrically about the ranging antenna, such that the ranging antenna and the three angle antennas define a tetrahedral geometry for determining an angle of arrival for one or more incident signals.

Ranging and angle of arrival antenna system for a mobile robot

Robot navigation beacon

A grass cutting mobile robot includes a body and a blade assembly connected to the body and rotatable about a drive axis. The blade assembly includes blades, a housing to hold the blades, and a spring that connects the blade to the housing. The housing includes a slot in which to mount a blade so that a portion of the blade is movable through the slot towards another blade in response to an impact. The slot slopes upwards in the housing towards the body, thereby enabling the blade to move upwards relative to a ground surface toward the body in response to the impact. The spring is for constraining movement of the blade relative to the housing.

A robot lawnmower includes a robot body, a drive system, a localizing system, a teach monitor, and a controller in communication with one another. The drive system is configured to maneuver the robot lawnmower over a lawn. The teach monitor determines whether the robot lawnmower is in a teachable state. The controller includes a data processing device and non-transitory memory in communication with the data processing device. The data processing device executes a teach routine when the controller is in a teach mode for tracing a confinement perimeter around the lawn as a human operator pilots the robot lawn mower, when the robot lawnmower is in the teachable state, the teach routine stores global positions determined by the localizing system in the non-transitory memory, and when the robot lawnmower is in the unteachable state, the teach routine issues an indication of the unteachable state.

Autonomous mobile robot

A mobile surface cleaning robot that includes a robot body having a forward drive direction and a drive system supporting the robot body above a floor surface. The drive system includes right and left drive wheels and a caster wheel assembly disposed rearward of the drive wheels. The caster wheel assembly includes a caster wheel supported for vertical movement and a suspension spring biasing the caster wheel toward the floor surface. The robot also includes a cleaning system supported by the robot body forward of the drive wheels and having at least one cleaning element that engages the floor surface. The suspension spring has a spring constant sufficient to elevate a rear end of the robot body above the floor surface to maintain engagement of the at least one cleaning element with the floor surface.

Roller brush for surface cleaning robots

Growing community of inventors

Framingham, MA, United States of America

Brian W Doughty